Towns, Teague ejected in Timberwolves' 116-108 loss to Jazz
SALT LAKE CITY -- Rudy Gobert scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell also scored 26 points and the Utah Jazz beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 on Friday night in a game that featured three ejections.
Jae Crowder -- who was thrown out not long after jawing with Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau -- and Derrick Favors added 15 points apiece for the Jazz. Utah beat the Timberwolves for the first time this season.
Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points for the Timberwolves and Jeff Teague added 25 before getting ejected for a flagrant foul on Ricky Rubio in Minnesota's second straight loss.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with just 13 points after picking up two technical fouls and getting ejected before halftime.
Utah closed the first half on a 20-6 run stretching over the final 3:49 of the second quarter. Gobert and Joe Ingles combined to score off dunks on three straight possessions to fuel the run and Mitchell buried a step-back jumper to finish it off and give the Jazz a 56-45 halftime lead. Towns was ejected with 23 seconds left in the second quarter after picking up his second technical foul for questioning a call.
The Timberwolves did make a run behind some strong third-quarter play from Teague. He took a steal in for a dunk and buried a jumper on back-to-back possessions as Minnesota closed to 70-66.
Teague's jumper made it 94-92 but Crowder buried a 3-pointer and Mitchell followed with back-to-back baskets to fuel an 11-2 run that gave Utah a 105-94 lead with 5:20 remaining.
Teague was ejected when he chased down a dribbling Rubio and knocked to him the ground with his shoulder. Injured Wolves All-Star Jimmy Butler tweeted that Teague's play was what he liked to see .
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: Taj Gibson played 39 minutes after leaving in the third quarter of Thursday's 108-99 loss to Portland with a left hip contusion. He finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. . Minnesota went 9 of 17 (.529) from 3-point range.
Jazz: Gobert racked up his 18th double-double of the season before halftime. He totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks, in the first half. . Utah outscored Minnesota 19-0 in second-chance points. The Jazz finished with a 45-27 advantage on the boards.
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host Boston on Thursday.
Jazz: Visit Sacramento on Saturday.
